


Redemption

by Krakatau



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-03-04 20:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3088811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krakatau/pseuds/Krakatau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Project Freelancer was a questionable operation; in every corner lurked lies and betrayal and violence.  Was it bred on the Mother of Invention out of noble intentions, or was it always a part of of every breath and every step that its inhabitants took?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redemption

Agent Carolina entered the observation room over the hangar bay. Everything was new; every surface shone with naivety, the Pelicans and Warthogs parked below crisp and unspoiled. The sounds were sharp and unfamiliar. It wouldn't take long to accept these things into a regular rhythm, of a new life, but for now, Carolina felt out of place. She takes a moment to assess The Director's stance, his mood, before striding into the middle of the room and standing at the ready. Director Church himself was standing as he usually did; facing the window,tall, hands loosely clasped behind his back, no sign of tension.

"Agent Carolina, reporting for duty, Sir."

He didn't move, didn't speak immediately, instead letting her words settle into the silence as if he were chewing over their honesty. "You read the dossier."

"I did, Sir. I don't expect he'll be a problem."

The Director made the slightest motion of turning in her direction, although he didn't follow it through all the way. She could see the doubt in that movement, and felt anger and pride heat her face. She pulled her lips into a thin line and held her tongue.

"I am starting you with the easiest so you can show me I can trust you, Agent." His words were smooth, but carried an undercurrent that seemed to chill the air around them. "Don't disappoint me."

"I won't, Sir."

"Dismissed."

Carolina gives him a curt nod, then turns on her heel and stalks out of the observation room. He watches as she crosses the hangar bay to the one Pelican fired up and ready to go. It was intriguing how out of place she looked, and yet how much she fit in. Her strides, her posture, her body langue looked as if it had been carved from the same mettle as the _Mother of Invention_ , but the current clothes she wore; the flowing blue skirt, the white top, screamed anything other than Soldier. That moment she seemed to him trapped, between the girl he would have liked to know, and the fighter he wanted her to be.

But war was sacrifice. The child had to die for the fighter within to flourish. He turned from the window and headed back to his study to wait.

~~~***~~~

"Entering New Alexandria Airspace, touchdown in fifteen." 479er curled slightly in her seat to glance at Agent Carolina in the doorway. The other woman was wearing a neutral expression but the pilot could feel the irritation leeching from her. "Wow. That smile is sure to bring all the boys running."

"I'm just here for one guy. I don't need a harem." She smooths out her skirt and shifts her weight against the pitch of the ship as it maneuvered through the skyscrapers of the city.

"Still, you might want to work on that smile. Honey and flies and all that shit."

"Right. Thanks for the advice."

They touched down, 479er giving a brief exchange with control for that particular building, and then turning to Carolina. "So what'll it be, kick my boots up and wait or go out and get some ice cream while you get your groove on?"

"Standby. This won't take long."

"Roger that, engines on standby."

Carolina left the ship and took a moment to collect herself on the landing pad. This was reminiscent of her old life, except then she didn't have the looming watchful eye of the Director. and a knowledge that 479er was just as much there as her escort as she was her guard. Still, as she stepped across the portico to the club, the rhythmic bass and hypnotic lights took her back. It wasn't that long ago she was flouncing into clubs like this, looking for a free drink and a thrilling night to drown out the pains and disappointments her life had been.

She opened the door and entered, stepping into the high contrast of mood lighting and flashy holographic decor. _Errera_ was a thing of legends in New Alexandria, and a popular hotspot for soldiers on leave (or, the occasional AWOL). Carolina wasn't focused on them, though, and walked through the hazy space without taking notice of the thick-necked ODSTs and Marines watching her. She glanced around her, oh yes, she knew who was lurking just out of her peripheral vision, but if the face didn't match the one she'd studied from the dossier she dismissed it.

A quick circuit around the club and she was getting frustrated; either he wasn't here, or she'd missed him. If she lingered too long, 479er would come find her. With a huff of irritation, she made a quick 360, looking for anything she missed, and - ah, yes. There it was. A secondary bar tucked underneath the DJ booth, just off the dance floor and secluded enough for sultry conversations mouth-to-ear. She walked in, and there he was, sitting alone at the bar and flipping a lighter open and closed, open and closed.

Carolina took a moment to size him up. She wasn't surprised; so far he lived up to the impression she'd gotten from his dossier; conventionally attractive, perfectly average in every way, except one little talent that had a habit of landing him in frequent trouble.

It wasn't an aspect she could test here, but that wasn't her mission. Making a decision, she took large, confident strides over to him and plucked the lighter out of his hands, turning to lean her back against the bar and fiddle with both hands. He sat back and looked at her with mild bewilderment.

"Didn't anyone tell you smoking was bad for your health?" She smirked at him, enjoying having caught him off guard.

"Yeah, but so is war. You want to tell that to the gathering of Marines upstairs?"

She tucked the lighter in her pocket and turned back around to order from the bartender. "You're not in the war, though." She gives him a surreptitious glance, and his eyebrows lifted slightly. Oh yes, she _knew_ things. "You get your kicks elsewhere."

He shrugs, and answers cryptically. "Everyone's gotta have a hobby."

The bartender brought Carolina her drink, and she handed him a credit chit. "Ever wonder where that hobby might take you?"

He snorted. "Jail, most likely." He looked at her a little more suspiciously. "I didn't catch your name ... I'm--"

She cut him off, taking his hand in a firm grip and locking his eyes with a dangerous fire. "You can call me Carolina. I have a proposition for you, if you'd prefer not to wind up in jail." She let go. "So. Are you ready to make your avocation your vocation?"

By now he was sitting back on his stool, eyes wide and expression a fair mix of confusion and intrigue. Dossier was right; this guy had a _terrible_ poker face. "I don't know, it's hard to trust anyone that shady, but if it means I get to work alongside you I might just consider it."

"Underneath me." Okay, so this part hadn't been discussed in detail, but she figured as she's the one fetching them, they would be under her orders.

Either way, he smiles. "Even better. So, what're the details?"

"Not to be discussed here."

"Why am I not surprised." He slid off his stool and looked ready to leave, but the bartender caught his arm and made a motion to pay up.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Here;" He slid over a credit chit, and Carolina watched as he lifted two in return. "Take care, man, and if my friends come back looking for me? Tell them I got a better offer."

~~~***~~~

York would later admit it wasn't the most sound decision he'd ever made; taking a shady offer simply because the woman intrigued him, but he would go on to explain the alternatives weren't much better, and that he never regretted it. 


End file.
